


I'm a Ghost to You, You're a Ghost to Me

by sarikeu



Category: Jurassic Park - All Media Types, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Just boys being soft, Kenji's POV, M/M, Post S2, Scorpius Rex does make an appearance, the love is requited but they're idiots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29941953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarikeu/pseuds/sarikeu
Summary: A post-S2 fic from Kenji's POV. It's mostly focused on Ben and Kenji, but there is a plot-line (hint: E750).
Relationships: Kenji Kon/Ben Pincus
Comments: 10
Kudos: 45





	1. Falling

"We're really on our own now," a voice in the distance said. Kenji looked up at the path ahead of him through the jungle, trying to discern which of the campers in front of him had spoken.

After seeing Tiff take off in the boat—their only chance of escaping the island—the campers had just stood on the dock, unsure of what to do. How were they supposed to get home now? Luckily, Darius had seemed to have a plan. He always knew what to do, which was good because Kenji _never_ knew what to do. His fake confidence and bravado had been slipping since the incident on the monorail. After losing Ben, it had been hard to keep up his act of the VIP who didn't let anything get to him. Losing Ben was the worst experience of his life. The time between then and now felt blurred, like something inside him had been broken. He hadn't even known what he was missing until it was already too late.

"Kenji?"

He looked up, realizing he'd been zoned out and had nearly walked into a tree. His gaze came to rest on Ben, whose eyebrows were raised in concern.

"Oh, I'm all good, just—” Kenji lost his train of thought, distracted by the wide gray eyes looking back at him.

Ben smiled and continued back down the path, Bumpy beside him. Kenji shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts and headed after them. He couldn't even speak properly around Ben now? That was going to have to get fixed fast, otherwise he didn't know how much longer he would last on this island without dying of embarrassment. He was supposed to be cool, confident, suave—a VIP. Feelings were _not_ going to get in the way of ruining the friendship he and Ben currently had.

After what seemed like hours, the campers found themselves back at their makeshift camp that had been their home for the past few weeks. Night had fallen, and Kenji could make out the constellations starting to appear in the sky.

"Wow!" Ben exclaimed. "This place is amazing!" He ran toward the ladder and patted Bumpy absentmindedly as he passed by. "This is way nicer than our leaves and log, huh girl?" Bumpy snorted and went to lay under the treehouse.

Kenji crinkled his eyebrows. _Leaves and a log?_ He had a lot to ask Ben about his time on his own in the jungle.

The other campers had climbed up the ladder, presumably headed to bed. They'd had a long day; Kenji couldn't believe they'd only had Ben back for less than twenty-four hours. He trudged toward the ladder, eager to get some sleep.

Clambering up onto the raised platform, Kenji saw the girls headed toward their side of the treehouse, laughing about something. Darius was already in his bed, somehow already asleep—or at least, Kenji assumed he was asleep from the soft snores coming from the boys' bunk area.

Ben appeared at the top of the ladder, apparently done saying goodnight to Bumpy. "Where are the beds?" he asked curiously, looking around the treehouse.

All Kenji could do was stare back. How was he supposed to tell Ben there were only five beds because they thought he wasn't coming back? That they didn't know if they'd ever see him again? "They're— We—" Kenji stammered, trying to find words, any excuse that didn't make it seem like they'd forgotten about Ben.

"Oh," Ben whispered, looking down at the floor miserably. "I see."

"Hey," Kenji said, trying to save the situation. "I'll stay on watch tonight. You can have my bed." He smiled encouragingly at Ben.

" _You're_ offering to give up your bed?" Ben asked incredulously. "Kenji Kon? Offering to sleep on the floor?" He shook his head in disbelief.

Kenji was shocked. "I've changed! I'm not the self-centered jerk you remember from camp, I promise." He gestured Ben toward his bed. "Just for tonight. You look like you need the sleep."

Ben nodded and smiled softly. "Thanks Kenji." He walked toward the bed before turning back. "You were kind of a jerk before, so I'm glad to see you're not so bad anymore," he teased.

Kenji turned around quickly before Ben could notice the blush rising to his cheeks. He settled down on the platform, staring out at the stars. What was he supposed to do on watch anyways? The campers hadn't had watch before tonight, though now that Kenji stopped to consider it, that seemed like a stupid idea. Shouldn't they always have someone awake, making sure a dinosaur wouldn't catch them off guard?

Maybe not tonight though, Kenji thought, stifling a yawn. Despite what he had told Ben, he was tired and wished he was lying in bed right now. Instead, he laid down on the edge of the platform, the uneven wood pieces poking his back. Ugh. At this point, he was too tired to care. He felt his eyes droop closed and let the wave of sleep wash over him.

\----

_Creak._

His eyes flying open, Kenji scrambled up, trying to figure out what noise had pulled him from his nice dream about mermaids. His eyes unable to quickly adjust to the dark, he could just vaguely make out a shape leaning over him.

Convinced a dinosaur had invaded their camp, he rolled to the side, falling into open air. _Shit._ He had forgotten how close he'd been to the edge of the platform before falling asleep. He twisted, reaching for anything to stop his fall, only to feel something grab his arm.

He looked down, seeing the ground a few feet below him. Ok, the fall wouldn't have been _that_ bad, but still, that would be a rough way to wake up. Looking up, he saw a hand tightly gripping his.

"Falling for me already?" a voice teased from the platform above him. Ben stuck his head over the edge, grinning down at Kenji. His mouth hanging open and unsure of how to respond, Kenji just stared back, trying to stop his brain from short circuiting. Was Ben...flirting with him? No way, he had to be misinterpreting things. There was no way—

Ben gripped his arm tighter and reached with his other hand toward Kenji. "Grab my hand," he urged, his eyes wide.

Looking at Ben's outstretched hand, Kenji felt déjà vu wash over him. Just weeks ago, he'd watched this exact situation play out but in reverse, with a much farther drop to the ground. He looked up at Ben, shock overwhelming him at the memory. His hand spasmed and broke free of Ben's grip.

Kenji tumbled to the ground, landing on his back, the wind momentarily knocked out of him. He rolled over to see Ben hurl himself down the ladder, scrambling across the grass to lay a hand on Kenji's shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He rushed. "I'm so sorry for scaring you! I just woke up, and you were on the floor near the edge of the treehouse so I went to check on you, and all of a sudden you were falling..." He trailed off, a faraway look in his eyes.

Kenji sat up, moving back to lean against a tree. "I'm fine, just—" He looked at Ben, willing himself not to spill all his feelings. "Hanging there reminded me of the monorail. When you—"

"When I fell." Ben finished, leaning back against his heels.

"Yah." Kenji sighed. "Look, I'm so sorry that we didn't try to find you after you fell. I wanted to, but everyone else wanted to go to the docks, and I didn't even know where to begin."

Ben leaned forward and put a hand on Kenji's arm. He smiled, his eyes full of emotion. "I get it. I wouldn't have stayed back to look for me either. Who would've guessed that someone like me would even last a minute in a dinosaur-infested jungle?" He chuckled humorlessly.

Kenji put his hand over where Ben's rested on his arm. He was so glad it was dark enough that Ben couldn't see how red his face currently was. "I _never_ gave up on you," he said fiercely. "I always knew deep down you weren't really gone."

Ben looked up, surprise written all over his face. "You—" he broke off, then glanced down to where Kenji's hand rested on his own.

Kenji looked down as well, realizing how close they currently were. Reeling back, he whacked his head against the tree. "Oof," he hissed between his teeth. That was definitely going to leave a bump.

"Kenji!" Ben exclaimed. He reached toward the other boy, but Kenji held up a hand. He wasn't sure how much longer he could be this close to Ben before he did something stupid.

"I'm ok," Kenji grunted, leaning back against the tree. He looked around, taking in the situation around him. He and Ben were pretty close to the ladder, Bumpy just a few feet away, curled up under the treehouse. They didn't seem to be in any immediate danger, plus he was tired and his back and head hurt too much to move.

"I think I'm just going to sleep down here for the rest of the night," he said to Ben, expecting an argument.

The smaller boy nodded, moving to lean against the tree next to him. "I'll keep watch, trust me, I have _plenty_ of experience," Ben mentioned, looking over at Bumpy.

Kenji smiled and leaned his head carefully against the tree. As sleep washed over him once again, he felt a something press against his side. Glancing over, he saw Ben’s head resting on his shoulder, a small smile on the other boy’s face. Finally at peace, Kenji let sleep pull him into the darkness, realizing this was the happiest he’d been in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of the fic is from the song "San Luis" by Gregory Isakov.
> 
> This fic isn't related to my other camp cretaceous fic I'm currently writing, but I just needed a break to write some cute Benji scenes. :) Comments and kudos are appreciated!


	2. Panic

Kenji woke up to something tickling his nose. Blinking blearily, still tired from the long day yesterday, he stretched. His arm scratched the tree behind him and—wait. The _tree_?

He opened his eyes slowly, realizing where he was: propped up against a tree, his head resting on top of Ben's head, who was still asleep, his face resting on Kenji's shoulder.

Trying not to freak out, Kenji felt the events of last night coming back to him. He had fallen from the treehouse and somehow, he and Ben had ended up sleeping down on the ground—the perfect place to get found by a dinosaur. Last night, he hadn't cared where he slept, as long as Ben was with him. Thinking about it now, Kenji couldn't believe they had both fallen asleep in such a dangerous location. Their camp was built up in the trees for a reason! Unfortunately, when Ben was around, Kenji found himself throwing logic out the window, his feelings clouding his judgement instead.

Should he wake Ben up? Or pretend to still be sleeping? Maybe try to get up to the treehouse without waking the other boy up? The situation was sure to become awkward once Ben realized they'd slept pressed up next to each other the whole night.

Looking down at Ben, Kenji realized he couldn't pretend this hadn't happened. The smaller boy looked so peaceful in his sleep, almost like he first had before they had lost him from the monorail—like the world hadn't clawed him up and thrown him back in pieces.

Before he could decide whether to wake Ben or just lay back and enjoy this feeling a little longer, Kenji heard snickering from above him, up in the treehouse. Afraid of what he would see, he slowly raised his eyes to the platform to see the other campers peeking over the edge, grins plastered on their faces.

Kenji groaned and felt heat rise to his cheeks, already embarrassed by the situation. How could he pass this off to save face? This was clearly not bros being bros. Bros did not use each other as a pillow and _definitely_ did not have the kind of feelings that Kenji had for Ben.

Brooklynn called down, "Hey lover boys, get any sleep last night?" Kenji glared up at her, racking his brain for a good excuse of why they were down on the ground. Unfortunately, he felt Ben stirring next to him; the smaller boy raised his head and saw the campers grinning down at them. He glanced briefly at Kenji before smiling back at the campers and saying nonchalantly, "That's the best sleep I've had in weeks." Brushing dirt from his knees, he stood up and walked toward Bumpy, seemingly unaffected by the situation.

Kenji stared hopelessly after him, wondering if he had completely misinterpreted last night. Maybe bros _did_ use each other as pillows in their sleep. Confused, he rose to his feet, wincing as his back twinged. Right, he had hit the ground pretty hard last night.

Doing his best to ignore the campers—who were still grinning like they were all part of an inside joke that didn't include Kenji—he asked, "So, what's the plan for the day?"

The group quieted, smiles quickly fading when they remembered they were stranded. No boat, no rescue team, no way home. Darius attempted a smile and looked around. "I was thinking we should look for supplies. Anything that we could use to find a way off the island."

Sammy perked up. "Oh, great idea! We should head back to Tiff and Mitch's camp. Maybe there's still stuff left that we could use, like food...weapons...the can opener!" She grinned.

Yaz climbed down the ladder and motioned for Sammy to follow. "Let's go!" She started stretching, apparently getting ready for the long hike, still slightly favoring her right leg.

"Wait, hold up." Brooklynn swung her legs over the edge and looked down at the other two girls. "I want to go back to the genetics lab and see what else my key card can unlock." She held up the small white card. Kenji scoffed. As if he could forget the stupid key card that had almost gotten him killed by the Baryonyx pack back at that garage.

"Ok, I'll go with you," Darius said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Who knows what else Dr. Wu could have in the lab. There could be another way to signal for help!" The other campers looked at each other eagerly. The signal they had sent from Main Street hadn't done them any good yet, and they hadn't even actually seen if the signal was received by anyone. Kenji didn't want to go back and check either. One time in the T. rex lair was enough for him; last time had been close enough, since he and Darius would've been eaten if not for Brooklynn's quick thinking.

Kenji looked at the two pairs getting ready to head out. He realized that he and Ben were probably going to have to split up so they could go off in groups of three. Trying to think of an excuse to keep Ben by his side, he racked his brain for anything else that could be useful for finding a way home.

"The tunnels!" he blurted out, drawing everyone's attention. At the blank stares, he clarified, "We should check the cameras in the tunnels to see if there's anything on the island we're missing. I'll go obviously, since I've been in the tunnels like a kajillion times."

He gazed at the campers, who all were nodding in agreement. Ben stepped out from under the treehouse, a spear in his hand. "We can take Bumpy with us," he called, a small smile on his face.

Kenji ignored the other campers' grins and nodded, trying to keep his face from heating up.

The campers said their goodbyes and headed off into the jungle, chatting and looking excited at the prospect of finding anything that could get them off the island, and leaving Kenji with Ben and Bumpy. The smaller boy hopped onto the Ankylosaurus like he had been doing it all his life and twirled his spear, securing it under the strap of his fanny pack.

Kenji put his hand on Bumpy, trying to figure out how Ben had made getting up there look so effortless.

"Need a hand?" Ben asked. Kenji nodded, gripping the extended hand and allowing Ben to pull him up onto Bumpy. Trying to avoid the spikes, he settled precariously behind Ben. 

Looking around, he tried to discern which way would be the fastest to the tunnels. If they wanted to take Bumpy down into the tunnels with them, they'd have to go farther to the main door that led to the tunnels, since a full-grown Ankylosaurus wouldn't fit down the small hatch the campers usually used.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Ben clearing his throat, clearly trying to get his attention. He looked at the smaller boy, who was staring pointedly back at him.

"What?" Kenji asked, confused why they hadn't gotten moving yet.

"Um..." A faint blush tinged Ben's cheeks. "I'm going to need my hand back if we want to get Bumpy headed to the tunnels."

Kenji looked down, his eyes widening at the sight of Ben's hand still clasped in his. He hadn't even realized he'd never let go of Ben's hand. How long had they been holding hands? _Oh no_. No, no, no, no. This was supposed to be a nice day trip with Ben, but it was already off to a terribly awkward start.

He quickly let go, unsure of what to say. "Sorry, I guess I got sidetracked," he came up with. _Stupid_. Sidetracked with _what_? The feeling of Ben's hand in his? The fact that he finally felt whole again, now that Ben was back?

Ben didn't question his response and turned back to Bumpy, directing her into the jungle.

The ride wasn't too long, as Kenji opted to go down the nearest hatch instead of heading for the main doors. Bumpy couldn't fit into the surveillance room anyways, so he figured it wasn't that important that she came into the tunnels with them too.

Once they reached the hatch, both boys descended into the darkness, leaving an unhappy looking Bumpy waiting for them above. They made their way to the surveillance room, which actually wasn't that far of a walk now that Kenji knew where he was going.

After making a few turns, the boys walked into the surveillance room to see it exactly as they'd left it just a few days ago, when they were on their way to stop Mitch and Tiff. The screens now showed dinosaurs everywhere: at the watering hole, curled up under a tree, walking through Main Street, even swimming in the river.

Kenji slid into one of the chairs and started pressing buttons, trying to change the screen views. He sighed in frustration as nothing he did seemed to work. Last time he'd been down here, Brooklynn had been doing all the work, seemingly knowing exactly which buttons to press.

Ben plopped down in the chair next to him, eyebrows scrunched as he considered the wide array of buttons. "This looks...fun," he said, grimacing as still none of the screens changed. He started jabbing at the buttons furiously, as though pushing them harder would somehow make a difference.

"I don't think that's working," Kenji pointed out, giving up and leaning back in his chair.

Ben glanced over at him and pouted. "It doesn't look like you figured it out either, _city boy_ ," he said, emphasizing the last words.

Annoyed, Kenji swiveled in his chair to face Ben. "What does that even mean?" The smaller boy raised his eyebrows, clearly not following. "City boy," Kenji elaborated. "What's with the new nickname?"

Ben shrugged. "I don’t know. It just feels right, like it fits you. You seem like someone who lives in a big city—or at least you seemed like that before. Now? You've changed." Ben looked down, his ears turning pink. "Since I've been back, you've been so—"

A screeching noise from the tunnel behind them cut off whatever Ben had been trying to say. Both boys whipped around, instantly becoming as quiet as possible. Kenji tried to control his breathing, straining his ears to see if he could hear anything else.

On the walk to the surveillance room earlier, they hadn't run into any dinosaurs. Kenji guessed it was possible that there were still dinosaurs lurking down in the tunnels, but that noise...it had almost sounded like a metal door screeching open. But dinosaurs couldn't open doors, or at least not any dinosaur he knew about.

In his peripheral vision, he saw Ben get up slowly and tiptoe to the door, his spear in his hand. He peered around the doorframe into the hallway. Kenji got up, hoping his chair wouldn't squeak or make any noise that could alert the dinosaur of their location. Luckily, he managed to stay quiet as he crowded next to Ben, looking over the smaller boy's shoulder.

Nothing seemed to be amiss upon first glance. No dinosaurs, and nothing to indicate anything had been there since the boys had walked through there earlier. Out of the corner of his eye, Kenji noticed a light flickering faintly farther down the hallway. He looked at Ben and saw confirmation in the other boy's eyes that he'd seen the same thing.

Steeling his nerves, Kenji stepped out into the hallway, determined to see why the light seemed to be flickering. He was probably making a big deal out of nothing. A Compy had probably knocked over something left behind by a worker and a lightbulb had just died. Nothing to worry about. Then he remembered that nothing ever seemed to go right—this was Isla Nublar after all.

He tiptoed down the hallway, pulling out his butter knife from his pocket, just in case. It's not like his butter knife could do much damage, but it made him feel safer, plus he had Ben right behind him, who was armed with a spear and had apparently killed Toro—he still needed to ask for the details on how that happened.

Shaking his head and focusing back on the flickering light, Kenji peered around a corner and saw the flickering light was coming from a door that was hanging ajar. This hallway didn't seem familiar, but all the tunnels looked so similar that he had no clue if he'd been this way before.

Ben moved around him to get a better look at the door. "E750?" he questioned, pointing at the plaque fixed to the door.

Kenji shrugged, not recognizing the number. Probably just a code for maintenance or security. As a VIP, he was sure that if it was important, his dad would've told him about it during previous trips to the tunnels when he was younger.

He followed Ben through the door, wondering what could be so special about this room. Ben stopped suddenly, and Kenji nearly bumped into him, catching himself before he knocked both of them over. He looked over Ben's shoulder, trying to see why the other boy had stopped so quickly.

In front of them, a large tank was cracked down the middle, a trail of glass shards leading toward the door. Inside the tank, ice was gathered around the drain in the floor, like it had just melted mere minutes ago. Something sparkling in the light among the ice chunks caught Kenji's eye.

He reached toward it, picking up the long white object. Turning toward Ben, he laid it in his palm, trying to determine what it could be. It was long and narrow, pointed at one end and serrated at the other, as if it had been broken off of something.

Ben gasped, his eyes widening in horror. "Is that—" he looked up at Kenji, fear written all over his face. "A tooth?"

Kenji considered the object again, realizing that it did look exactly like a dinosaur tooth. Horror welling up inside him, he noticed the tooth was longer than his pointer finger. This wasn't a Compy, that's for sure. It must be _much_ bigger, and able to open doors.

"Ben," he said, pocketing the tooth and grabbing the smaller boy's arm. "We just heard this door open a few minutes ago, and the ice looks like it's not even fully melted yet. We need to get out of here fast, unless we want to come face-to-face with whatever dinosaur just broke out of here."

Ben gulped and nodded. "I don't want to find out what top-secret dinosaur they've been keeping down here. Why is it in the tunnels, and not somewhere more secure?"

Kenji shrugged, moving to peer out into the hallway. He didn't see any sign of a dinosaur, but this one was obviously smart and pretty sneaky.

"Why did it just thaw now?" Ben whispered behind him, apparently caught up in the mystery now. "What does E750 have to do with it?"

Kenji motioned for him to be quiet. He wanted to know what was going on too, but at the moment, he was a little more concerned with getting trapped in the tunnels with the top-secret dinosaur that the park personnel clearly hadn't wanted anyone to know about.

The dinosaur must have gone to the right, since they'd come from the left and hadn't seen any sign of life in that section of the tunnels. Kenji was so glad they had decided to leave Bumpy up above. She never seemed to know when to be quiet, which had nearly gotten them killed by the Indominus Rex just a few weeks ago. He and Ben were better off escaping on their own, without having to worry about the Ankylosaurus too.

He tried to formulate a plan of escape. It seemed obvious that they should head back the way they came, but was there a way out any closer that where they'd originally entered the tunnels? He wanted to get out as soon as possible, as he really had no clue where the dinosaur was.

Kenji grabbed Ben's hand and pulled him out into the hallway, trying to run as fast as he could without making too much noise. He remembered Toro chasing their group through the tunnels and shivered, pulling Ben along faster.

Spotting a ladder leading up to the surface, he shoved Ben toward it. "Hurry," he whispered. "I'll be right behind you."

Ben nodded and scrambled up the ladder, fumbling with the latch that would open the cover to the jungle above them. As Ben twisted the hatch open, the spear that had been hastily secured at his hip clanged against the ladder. The loud noise echoed down the tunnel.

Kenji winced and climbed up the ladder as far as he could without bumping into Ben. "Hey, hurry up!" he whispered furtively, not wanting to be here when the dinosaur came to investigate the source of the noise.

Just as the hatch started to open, Kenji heard a slow growl coming from the hallway they had just left, where they had discovered the tank. A clicking noise started to grow louder, as if claws were tapping against the ground, heading toward them.

Suddenly very concerned, Kenji looked up to see Ben scrambling through the opening of the hatch, calling for Bumpy. Kenji shot up the ladder as fast as he could, closing the hatch as soon as his feet hit the grass. Hopefully that _thing_ would stay trapped in the tunnels, unable to find the main doors. If it got out—

Kenji shook his head to clear his thoughts. He wasn't even going to consider that. The campers would figure something out, they always did. Together, they had survived the Indominus Rex, the Mosasaurus, Toro, the T. Rex...Kenji smiled. Even though this new dinosaur seemed like bad news, he was confident that they would all be ok. They had each other, and after all, that’s what was really important.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Ben, who laid a hand on his shoulder, Bumpy plodding toward them from across the clearing. "We need to warn the others," Ben said solemnly.

Kenji nodded and locked eyes with Ben. So much for a fun day trip. The boys climbed atop Bumpy and made their way back toward camp, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the tunnel as possible. Hopefully the other campers had found some way off the island, because Kenji did not want to be around for when the top-secret dinosaur found its way out of the tunnels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consistent chapter lengths? I don't know her. This chapter got way longer than it was originally supposed to.
> 
> Would you all believe me if I told you I had written this last night, before the S3 teaser trailer came out and showed pretty much the exact plot-line of this chapter? I was shocked when I saw the that the teaser was almost the same as this chapter, lol. Anyways, this fic wasn't originally supposed to be plot-heavy, but after writing this E750 plot, I've decided to add a few more chapters.
> 
> Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter! Commends and kudos are appreciated :)


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